Preformed multipane glazing unit



Aug.'24, 1943. H. M. WOELFEL PREFORMED MULTIPANE 'GLAZiNG UNIT FiledJan. so, 1942 n. .u HH H U .H H

to term an enclosed cell space.

. casfsignor to tolunits comprising two transparent panes havingtheinmarginal portionscemented together The improvements previded by thepresent invention are apregardless of whether the celllspace between theYttansparentpanes is totbeihermeticallysealed or -18 to be ventedLetheoutside atmosphere;

The "main feature of this invention resides in the provisipn of.an;improved form oflmetallic jfifla elftframe cemented in place betweenthe sure, i This frame is Iormedwith reshaped side members, the stemportions of. which are directed outwardly, and islinitially, placedbetween the transpare t panes so (that "the outer marginal edge of thestempprtion of each frame member substantially co-planer with: thecorrespondthis. cut mar nal ed es of, the/tr nsparent panels. t The stemp i ns f the Irameimeml-bfi is .nalremade of substantial length sp thatthe jheadportion of each frame member. located 25,327,917; I U H l-*JUPREEORMED-MIJLTIPANE emzmdiomr g h t a H ld M w'euetimonceai.quetetgicamsa; 1; a '9 'T 1 6 Robert mtchellfco. Limited, a 1 M t eQuebec, Canada j i I g i h Applicatiqnalanwrto, 1942,Sc1=ial1[o.428,91f7M i l (c1. 2i 5, j p invention relates. to preformed muninane glazingunits and has particular reference iplicabletto this type of multi-paneglazing unit (this portian'nf the spacer-frame andprthe sealingmaterialsince the resiliency 'of theisaalinz material is sufilcient toprevent this. 11am. aware that "the interposition .01 metal spacers.between 'thehtranspacent panes oftpreformedimulti pim .glazing units isnot broadly news Howevcrflb? spacer frame of my inventionndii fers fromthese previously used inithat it: provideain .C-mnjtmtr tion-with the.marginalxportiens Ofmthe trans parent panes; a 'ipluralityl of. channelsin, which site-sides of the stem portion .ofthe frame and the inner nrbottom walls oft-these qhanhelsmm I fermedo by the :head zpontion cf theframe ,which serves as a stop for..;the sealing material; s-the .m a dlysu s i l-distance rom t e corresponding ,,marg ir1al portions of,.thegpanes.

a After the; spacer frame has been-flttedtin Place t the t a s arent aes clamps iare ap- Dfied t9 the tte to rho di h p rts inplac durinsatheceme ng en t t on whi consists in [extruding streamseofiastictcementitious sealing "m te al; o, hanne s or aces reservedbetween the inner surfaces of the panes and the opposing side surfacesof the stern portionsof the spacer frame. The said channels ortsp ccrs'extemiv tu int rupteci y' 1 0ll ptht ma g n pc ic s o he pa eand the ansmaterial V 11am thereiniin the f r r continuousstr Thespacc frame, isPre era l made flthi flexible metal and the head portion 51 3-315-ve'rsely curved so that, by r ason of Such curva-' ture said headportion is capable of flexing in response to inwardpressure of thetransparent ane Such fiexure of the head portion of the spacer framedoes not disrupt the bond between .As shown n t e latter is forced intothe channels dnrin g the "sealing operation. So far am aware itis new toprovide a spacer frame which, i fitted between rginal portions of t e.transparent pa s pr vid s a nluralityof channel whichv ar pen at themargina po t ons of the pant t receive the sealing mate al; 2

Proceeding now to a {m of this invention reference will be 11a o theaccompanying drawing, wherein of a multiepane glazing un it constructed;in ac Fig. 3 :is. aviewifllust i h i tia? i which the plasticsealing mata is xtruded into the channels iorm df and b tween th transparent pan sand the i t r osed spa e frame;

Hal view taken aiong the line 10: Fig.

ing unit comprises a pair of transparent, panes s d 6 having theirmarginal portions cemented tpgan interposed spacer frame "I which servesto prevent collapse of the unit'by externalpressure. In thepresentinstance theQfrarne 1 is shown as a substant ally rec an a fr me i h ssubl'stantiauy cross s ction, the Stem po tion 8 of eachside member-ofthe fr Q1118 directed utwardly frorn the head portio f9 mgspacer time iitia l arranged betwee the transparent panes Sand 6 as shown in Fig. 2,it being noted that the head portion 9 of each side member of the frameis disposed a. substantial distance inwardly from the adjacent mar- Fi.1 aside e evation, pa tly broke away,

drawing, my ilnproved Igla z- "spacer frame members. ,Fig. 3 the stemportions 8 of the spacer frame are spaced from the inner surfaces ofthe'transginal portions of the panes 5 and 6 and that the outer end ofthe stem portion 8 of each side member of the frame is substantiallyco-planar with the adjacent marginal edges of said panes. After thepacer frame has been thus arranged between the panes 5 and 6 the latterare temporarily clamped against the head portions 9 of the frame in anysuitable manner so as to hold the parts against accidental displacementduring the sealing operation hereinafter described. For example, theholding of the transparent panes 5 and 6 of the spacer frame in theirproper relative positions during the cementing operations may beaccomplished by the use of any suitable type of v clamps adapted to befitted over the panes 5 and 6 to press them against the head portion 9of the As clearly shown in parent panes 5 and 6 to provide channels :0and II which are filled with cementitious plastic sealing material asindicated at l2 in Fig. 2. This sealing material I2 is preferablyextruded into the channels l0 and II by means of the forked :extrusionnozzle indicated at I4 in Figs. 3 and 4.

This nozzle is bifurcated to provide branches l5 and I6 which straddlethe stem portions 8 of the spacer frame when inserted in the channelsIll and H. The cementitious material i2 is forced into the channels Inand II through the delivery openings I! of the nozzle, itbeing'understood that, during this operation, the glazing unit is movedrelative to the nozzle or vice versa so that 5 the sealing material islaid in each of the channels l0 and II in the form of a continuoussealing stripcompletelyfilling. said channels. Aside from'the use of thedivided nozzle hown at M the present invention is not particularlyconcerned with the specific construction of the apparatus by which therelative movement necessary'between the nozzle and the glazing unit iseffected during. the filling of the channels If! and II with the sealingmaterial.

Woelfel, filed May 13, 1938, under Serial No.

207,719. '-The cementing operation required in connec- "tion with thepresent invention may be performed with the aid of the apparatusdisclosed in said co-pending application by simply substituting theherein described bifurcated nozzle {14 for the single delivery openingnozzle shown and described in said application. The clamps shown in saidco-pending application for holding the transparent panes in spacedrelation during the cementing operation may also be used in accordancewith the present invention as the clamping means for holding the panes 5and 6 in 'assembled relation'with the interposed spacer frame I. f 4 iIn the present instance I have shown a spacer frame I in which the stemand head portions 8 and 9 are formed by bending a single sheet of metalo that these portions of the frame-are of double thickness, the twothicknessesof each portion being spaced apart as will be apparent fromFigs. 2 and '3. This method of constructing the T-shaped members givesit a certain'amoun't'of added springiness whichhas been found desirableAn example of a suitable apparatus for use in this connection isdisclosed in the co-pending application of .H. M.

to take care of maximum flexing of the glass panes 5 and 6 when theglazing unit is in service. It will be understood, however, that thestem and head portions of the spacer frame may be of single thickness.It will also be understood, that the spacer frame may be made of castmetal instead of sheet metal. The latter is preferred since it enablesthe head portion of the frame to be transversely curved as shown inFigs. 2 and 3 and such transverse curvature,

in the case of a sheet metal frame, is of advantagein that it permitsthe marginal portions of the T-head 9 to be deflected inwardly byexjtern'alpressure on the transparent panes 5 and 6.

During the cementing operation very thin layers of the cementitiousmaterial l2 are forced inwardly between the inner surfaces of the panesJ 5 and 6 and lateral edges of the head portions 9 foil, which arefolded about the marginal portions of the glazing unit as indicated at29 and cemented in place in intimate contact with the engaging outersurfaces of the glass pane and the exposed surfaces of the interposedsealing composition. The purpose of the foil 20 is to prevent thesealing compound I2 being impaired by the deleterious action of oils andsolvents contained in the putty and other caulking compounds usuallyemployed for securing the glazing unit in position within a wooden ormetal frame. The cementing agent employed for securing the foil 20 inplace should have the characteristics -specified in the co-pending U. S.application of -S. G. Lipsett, filed Aug. 29, 1938, under Serial No.227,405. In the present instance I have shown a glazing unit in whichthe cell space between the transparent panes 5 and 6 is hermeticallysealed but it will-be understood that, if 'desired, this cell space maybe vented to the atmosphere in any suitable manner such, for example, asthe particular manner disclosed in the aforesaid Lipsett application.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

A' preformed multi-pane glazing unit comprismg a pair of transparentpanes, a T-section [spacer interposed between the marginal portions ofsaid panes with the stem portion of the T- section extending outwardlyfrom the head portion in spaced relation to the inner surfaces of saidpanes, said spacer being made of thin, flexible, resilient metal andhaving its head portion transversely curved to increase the flexibilitythereof and a sealing material filling the space between the stemportion of the T-section and the opposing surfaces of said panes andserving to bond the latter to both the stem and head portions of theT-section.

HAROLD M. WOELFEL.v

